Mini Mystery Skull 12-Day Advent Halloween Holiday Gift Set

Do you like bones? Do you like surprises? Do you think things that are tinier than normal are extra adorable? If any of the above are true, this 12-day advent-style gift set is for you! You'll receive 12 sparkly gold-colored bags, each containing a miniature 3D-printed mystery skull, along with a length of twine and wooden pegs for a garland-y display. 

There are over 30 possible species! They're printed from digital scans of real skulls, so they're as anatomically accurate as possible while also being adorably little. Each one is sized to fit into a space of about 2 inches squared, so some are pretty robust and others are daintier.

Since they're a pre-packaged surprise these skulls make an awesome gift to yourself for the holidays, or you can pick one up for your favorite bones and oddities collector, science nerd, budding biologist, or fan of all things spooky.

Beginning this year, the 12th mystery skull is a ready-to-hang ornament! It's a skull slightly larger than the rest, and will be simply tied with a ribbon; if you'd prefer to display it differently you can just snip the ribbon off. Want to display all of your little skulls as hanging ornaments? You can add on a set of 11 clear baubles to turn the whole bundle into ornaments! The two-piece baubles can be snapped together around the skull, then just string the included ribbon as a hanger.

This set includes approximately 10 feet of cotton twine (orders before Halloween will have black twine, and orders after will have green), as well as a dozen little wooden clothespins, so you can hang your skull bags like a decorative garland. Pin them across the mantle, wrap them around your tree, build them into your blanket fort, the choice is yours! The bags come unnumbered, so they can be displayed (and opened) in any order. If you order two sets, I'll try to ensure there's no overlap so each set contains completely different species. If you order more than two, there may be some overlap in what species are included.

If you've previously ordered one of these advent sets to the same name/email address, I'll be sure to send you a selection from this year's new batch of species; if you've purchased from my vending machine at a show this year, please leave a note when you order letting me know what species you already have and I'll make sure you don't receive those again!

Make It A Vulture Culture Holiday

This style of 12-day gift surprises is typically associated with Advent, but it's great for any occasion! Add to the anticipation for Halloween, or make it a gift that keeps on giving for someone's birthday. Or just treat yoself for absolutely any reason you'd like!

For the traditional Christian 12 days of Christmas (also called the Twelvetide), you'll mark the days between Christmas on December 25th and Epiphany on January 6th (with the last gift traditionally opened on the 5th).

If you celebrate Yule, you'd most likely want to start opening your bags on December 20th, or according to the phases of the moon, so I'll let you figure those dates out.

To celebrate the 12 days leading up to Christmas instead, you'd need to begin opening your gift bags on the 14th of December. Is this a particular holiday observance? Not really, it's mostly because all of us have heard that 12 days of Christmas song with all the birds in it, and we assumed it was a lead-up to the holiday, when actually it happens after. Accidental traditions are valid too.

In any event, those are the generally accepted options, so bear that in mind when you're selecting your shipping speed at checkout!